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Restaurant complex on ISB set to open this summer

Construction work is seen at the site of the new Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze restaurants, Thursday April 18, 2013, which are going up at the corner of International Speedway Boulevard and Bill France Boulevard.

Published: Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, April 22, 2013 at 5:52 p.m.

DAYTONA BEACH — Two national chain restaurants are set to open here, across the street from Daytona International Speedway, this summer and a third could soon join them.

A new complex that will house both a Bahama Breeze Island Grille and Olive Garden restaurant is quickly coming out of the ground along West International Speedway Boulevard, just east of Bill France Boulevard, where the former Ramada Inn Speedway hotel was demolished this winter.

Bahama Breeze is expected to open in August, with the new Olive Garden opening the following month, said Hunter Robinson, a spokesman for Darden Restaurants, the Orlando-based parent company for both chains.

Plans for a new IHOP restaurant to be built on the same 4.6-acre property are being reviewed by city planners.

"Daytona Beach is an attractive market and that area by the Speedway has many other restaurants," Robinson said. "We want to have Bahama Breeze part of that restaurant and entertainment atmosphere and bring that brand to Daytona Beach."

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties, which owns Volusia Mall, paid $3.9 million in December for the development site. Volusia Mall is just east of the former Ramada Inn Speedway property.

Haley Construction of Daytona Beach is the general contractor for the two new restaurants. The construction value is $1.2 million according to city permit records. Darden will lease the spaces for the new restaurants from CBL.

"We are excited with the addition of Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze," Kate Reinsmidt, a CBL spokeswoman, told The News-Journal in an email. "They are a great complement to the mall's offerings and are sure to receive a strong reception in the market."

CBL also owns two other shopping centers in the Volusia-Flagler area: The Pavilion at Port Orange and Cobblestone Village in Palm Coast.

Bahama Breeze has 24 restaurants, according to the Darden Restaurants website. The one coming to Daytona Beach will be the first in the Volusia-Flagler area. It will be 7,500 square feet in size and is expected to employ 175 workers, Hunter said.

Olive Garden has 1,200 restaurants with one each in Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Palm Coast, Port Orange and Orange City.

The Daytona Beach Olive Garden at 1725 W. International Speedway Blvd. is on a Volusia County-owned property next to Daytona Beach International Airport. The eatery is about a quarter mile from the former Ramada Inn Speedway site and will be closed when the new Olive Garden restaurant opens.

"The lease for the Olive Garden expires Sept. 30," said Stephen Cooke, director of business development at the county-run Daytona Beach International Airport. A new tenant for the soon-to-be-vacated property has not yet been found.

The new Olive Garden will have about 180 employees and be 7,700 square feet in size, slightly smaller than the current 9,000-square-foot Daytona Beach Olive Garden.

Plans to open an IHOP restaurant on the former Ramada Inn Speedway property is not yet a done deal, said Craig Hoffman, spokesman for the Glendale, Calif.-based chain.

The franchisee for IHOPs in Florida, Sunshine Restaurant Partners, "is negotiating for a new restaurant site in Daytona Beach and that's all we can say at this time," Hoffman said.

"Anytime we get new restaurants, that's good news. A recent tourism study determined we have a shortage of restaurants in Daytona Beach," said Costa Magoulas, dean of the Mori Hosseini College of Hospitality and Culinary Management at Daytona State College. "They like to cluster and this area (the International Speedway Boulevard corridor) is the entryway to the city. Everyone sees them on the way in, even going to the beach, which is starting to redevelop and will see some growth of restaurants in the future."

<p>DAYTONA BEACH &mdash; Two national chain restaurants are set to open here, across the street from Daytona International Speedway, this summer and a third could soon join them. </p><p>A new complex that will house both a Bahama Breeze Island Grille and Olive Garden restaurant is quickly coming out of the ground along West International Speedway Boulevard, just east of Bill France Boulevard, where the former Ramada Inn Speedway hotel was demolished this winter. </p><p>Bahama Breeze is expected to open in August, with the new Olive Garden opening the following month, said Hunter Robinson, a spokesman for Darden Restaurants, the Orlando-based parent company for both chains. </p><p>Plans for a new IHOP restaurant to be built on the same 4.6-acre property are being reviewed by city planners. </p><p>"Daytona Beach is an attractive market and that area by the Speedway has many other restaurants," Robinson said. "We want to have Bahama Breeze part of that restaurant and entertainment atmosphere and bring that brand to Daytona Beach." </p><p>Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties, which owns Volusia Mall, paid $3.9 million in December for the development site. Volusia Mall is just east of the former Ramada Inn Speedway property.</p><p>Haley Construction of Daytona Beach is the general contractor for the two new restaurants. The construction value is $1.2 million according to city permit records. Darden will lease the spaces for the new restaurants from CBL. </p><p>"We are excited with the addition of Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze," Kate Reinsmidt, a CBL spokeswoman, told The News-Journal in an email. "They are a great complement to the mall's offerings and are sure to receive a strong reception in the market." </p><p>CBL also owns two other shopping centers in the Volusia-Flagler area: The Pavilion at Port Orange and Cobblestone Village in Palm Coast. </p><p>Bahama Breeze has 24 restaurants, according to the Darden Restaurants website. The one coming to Daytona Beach will be the first in the Volusia-Flagler area. It will be 7,500 square feet in size and is expected to employ 175 workers, Hunter said. </p><p>Olive Garden has 1,200 restaurants with one each in Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Palm Coast, Port Orange and Orange City. </p><p>The Daytona Beach Olive Garden at 1725 W. International Speedway Blvd. is on a Volusia County-owned property next to Daytona Beach International Airport. The eatery is about a quarter mile from the former Ramada Inn Speedway site and will be closed when the new Olive Garden restaurant opens. </p><p>"The lease for the Olive Garden expires Sept. 30," said Stephen Cooke, director of business development at the county-run Daytona Beach International Airport. A new tenant for the soon-to-be-vacated property has not yet been found. </p><p>The new Olive Garden will have about 180 employees and be 7,700 square feet in size, slightly smaller than the current 9,000-square-foot Daytona Beach Olive Garden. </p><p>Plans to open an IHOP restaurant on the former Ramada Inn Speedway property is not yet a done deal, said Craig Hoffman, spokesman for the Glendale, Calif.-based chain. </p><p>The franchisee for IHOPs in Florida, Sunshine Restaurant Partners, "is negotiating for a new restaurant site in Daytona Beach and that's all we can say at this time," Hoffman said. </p><p>"Anytime we get new restaurants, that's good news. A recent tourism study determined we have a shortage of restaurants in Daytona Beach," said Costa Magoulas, dean of the Mori Hosseini College of Hospitality and Culinary Management at Daytona State College. "They like to cluster and this area (the International Speedway Boulevard corridor) is the entryway to the city. Everyone sees them on the way in, even going to the beach, which is starting to redevelop and will see some growth of restaurants in the future."</p>